Wates has been contracted to build a £27.5m 19-storey student accommodation facility at 60 Commercial Road and an adjacent £6.45m speculative six-storey office development at Back Church Lane.
Developer Derwent London secured permission for the scheme in December 2010 from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets but subsequently sold it to investment vehicle UKSA 60 CR Sarl. Generation Estrates will be delivering the scheme as development manager.
Construction at the student facility, which neighbours London Metropolitan University, has now begun and will include the delivery of a 12,000 sq m scheme. Once complete the development will comprise 417 student rooms with prefabricated bathroom pods and kitchenettes.
The project, which has been designed by Buckley Gray & Yeoman, replaces an old job centre that has now been demolished by Cantillon. The accommodation will be managed by Pure Student Living and will also include a roof terrace garden and commercial retail units on the ground floor.
Essex Services Group will provide mechanical, electrical and plumbing services for the student accommodation and Wates Building Services will handle the office development. Construction on the office block is programmed to start this June.
Both projects are due to reach completion in summer 2015 and will incorporate energy efficient features, including air source heat pumps and green and brown sedum roofing.
Wates director Richard Shroll said: “We have spent the past few months in close consultation with our client to ensure that the two developments in Aldgate will provide high quality and high specification accommodation for its occupants. Both sites have considerable tight footprints and meticulous logistical management and off-site construction will subsequently enable us to efficiently deliver the buildings concurrently with minimal disruption to our neighbours.”
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